The last U.S. ambassador to Britain was a horse breeder. The next one could be a car dealer.
Soon Bob Tuttle, co-owner of Irvine-based Tuttle-Click Automotive Group, will be seeing the world from a London eye view.
President Bush nominated Tuttle, known as a “Bush Pioneer” for his prolific fund raising, to be ambassador to Britain. Pioneers raised more than $100,000 for Bush’s re-election.
If confirmed, Tuttle could keep oversight of his dealerships while turning over day-to-day duties to partner and cousin James “Jim” Click and general managers. Click manages the group’s Arizona dealerships.
Former U.S. ambassador to Spain George Argyros kept oversight of his real estate and investment businesses from 2001 to 2004.
Tuttle began his career in the car business in the summer of his youth, sweeping up at his father’s Ford dealership on Beverly Boulevard and La Brea Avenue.
Tuttle bleeds Re-
publican. His father, Holmes Tuttle, sold a car to Ronald Reagan in 1946 and was one of a few that convinced Reagan he’d make a good governor.
Bob Tuttle himself worked for Reagan for six years as “assistant to the president and director of presidential personnel,” which means he led the charge in recommending appointees.
Tuttle-Click has 15 dealerships and employs about 1,450 people. It counts yearly sales of more than $700 million.
In other Tuttle-Click news, Tuttle-Click Ford in Irvine has seen its customization business boom in the past six years since starting T.C. Motorsports.
Tuttle-Click Ford in Irvine does about 15 to 20 customizations a month.
Unlike many dealers that send out for customizing, Tuttle-Click does it all in-house, said Michael Guerin, parts and service director who’s been with the dealership for 20 years.
Guerin said he modeled T.C. Motorsports after Harley-Davidson’s business.
“Harley Davidson created this culture of coming back,” he said.
Coming back to buy accessories, that is. The average Harley accessory buy is $1,500, he said.
Guerin said he doesn’t mess around with cheap parts.
“We do higher-ticket items,” he said.
The average customizing package goes for $5,000 and $6,000, he said. For trucks, people generally want lift kits, wheels and tires. For cars, they want lowered suspension, wheels and tires.
On the Ford F-250 truck, Tuttle-Click might add a horsepower package.
“It’s just never enough,” he said of some clientele who are addicted to speed.
Guerin includes himself in that category. He has a car collection and six motorcycles.
“I’m fanatical about how I like my car,” he said.
T.C. Motorsports recently turned over an Excursion, which had $11,000 worth of accessories added, he said.
“I looked at his face and he was just as happy as could be,” Guerin said.
As Seen on TV
Several retailers from The Irvine Company’s Fashion Island, Crystal Cove Promenade and Corona del Mar Plaza centers are set to be on Cox Communications Inc.’s “The Mix,” which is produced in Orange County.
The broadcast is slated to highlight summer fashions from stores including Jack’s Surfboards, Pink Wasabi, Talulah G, Lola Rouge and Apropos.
Old School
Would the kids on “The O.C.” think the Fashion Island concert series is retro cool or unworthy?
The mall’s annual concert series features a slew of oldies such as Chuck Negron, formerly of Three Dog Night, B.J. Thomas (“Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head”), The Family Stone Experience and Dave Wakeling, formerly of the English Beat.
Where’s Walden?
Waldenbooks at Village at Orange is getting a paint job and a new sign slapped on the front: Borders Express.
It’s part of Ann Arbor, Mich.-based Borders Group Inc.’s conversion process. Borders converted 37 Waldenbooks stores to Borders Express stores last year and plans to change 75 to 100 stores this year.
The store is set to change over this month. Borders Express is what 7-Eleven is to a grocery store. That’s how one salesperson put it.
Fall Fashion
Debra Gunn Downing, executive director of marketing for South Coast Plaza, recently spent some time in New York putting together the shopping center’s fall catalog, which she calls “very luxurious.”
What else would we expect from South Coast Plaza? The styles for the fall catalog are a carryover from spring, she said. Bohemian chic and fur trim are in for the fall, she said. Fur goes in and out of style, she said.
“Right now, it’s definitely in,” Gunn Downing said.
Other looks for the fall: feminine, ruffles, soft fabric, embellishments such as sequins, beads and embroidery.
